Volunteers Needed to Help Build Homes for Displaced Ukrainians

A family in western Ukraine is appealing for skilled volunteers to help complete an important housing project before winter.

Taras and Alice Dembitskyi, along with their daughter Tanya, live in Chernivtsi, western Ukraine. For the past four and a half years, their church community has been supporting people who have been forced to leave their homes because of the war.

They have already renovated old buildings to provide accommodation for internally displaced people. Their latest project is even more ambitious: building new homes for displaced orphans and adults who desperately need somewhere safe to live.

Skilled help urgently needed

The project is now facing a shortage of skilled construction workers. With many working age men having been conscripted, finding experienced people to carry out the necessary building work has become increasingly difficult.

The aim is to get the accommodation completed before winter. Temperatures in the region can fall to around minus 30°C, making unfinished buildings particularly difficult and dangerous to inhabit.

Taras is therefore appealing for volunteers with construction and practical skills who could travel to Chernivtsi and help get the project over the line.

A warm welcome for volunteers

Taras has assured potential volunteers that every effort will be made to look after them during their stay. Food and accommodation will be provided, and the local team will do everything possible to ensure volunteers remain safe while carrying out the work.

Chernivtsi is situated in western Ukraine, close to the Romanian border. While there remains a risk from the ongoing war, the area is considered to face a lower level of risk than many other parts of Ukraine.

This is a chance to use practical skills to make a very real difference to people who have lost their homes and, in some cases, their families.

If you have construction experience, practical skills, or may be able to help with this project, please consider getting in touch to find out more.

Every pair of helping hands could make a difference in getting these homes finished before winter.

For more information please email John Casebourne – johncasebourne@icloud.com